Since Mark Jackson gave up his place on the bench of the Golden State Warriors 8 years ago, his name comes up almost every time a position becomes available in the NBA. Logical, one can say to oneself, since he contributed, whatever one may say, to develop the team which a few months later became NBA champion under the orders of Steve Kerr. He was pretty sure courtiers would knock on his door with such a clean-looking CV. Especially teams looking for a coach capable of advancing a young and promising nucleus. Except… no.
Faced with the lack of proposals, the former leader of the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, who turns 57 today, returned to his job as a consultant with Jeff Van Gundy on ESPN. Mark Jackson has his fans, not tired of his traditional “Mama, there goes that man”. But he also has more and more detractors, annoyed to see him frequently criticize coaches whose work nevertheless seems superior to his. Latest example: Frank Vogel, considered by Jackson to be not really deserving in the quest for the title of the Los Angeles Lakers. And besides that, still no return on an NBA bench …
But why this disenchantment? Mark Jackson may have this benevolent and motivating pastor side, he still has a fairly heavy liability which is enough to put off the current leaders of the NBA.
The day Mark Jackson blessed Stephen Curry’s ankle in his Church
As a player, his popularity had already taken a hit when he was named responsible for the retirement of John Stockton at the Jazz in 2003, when he initially wanted to extend the adventure. Jackson’s character and his apparent lack of respect for his elder were visibly in question. Barely had his conversion begun, he had also been at the heart of a blackmail scandal after an extra-marital affair with a stripper who made him sing, when he presented himself (as today) as a devout Christian. and a “champion of God”.
None of this has much to do with the terrain. So let’s move on to his experience in Golden State, about which several diverse and varied media, from ESPN to simple informants on Reddit, have released some nuggets.
– Mark Jackson would have developed a generalized paranoia. He apparently suspected Mike Malone (the current coach of the Denver Nuggets), then his assistant, to want his job and put pressure on his management to get him fired. She basically wanted to name Malone “senior assistant”, to support Jackson as Alvin Gentry did a few years later with the inexperienced Steve Kerr.
– He formally refused to all his deputies to communicate with the press during his mandate, for fear that they would criticize him and make his position more precarious.
– His staff and some of his players criticized him privately for having no strategy other than excessive isolation and also criticized his lack of preparation for matches.
– He forbade jerry west (yes, LE Jerry West) and popular local commentator Jim Barnett to attend practices. According to Darren Erman, assistant at the time, it was so that they would not hear the rather “crazy” speeches made by Jackson during the sessions.
– Erman also tried to record certain sessions to show management what Mark Jackson was capable of. One example in particular, mentioned in private by Erman: his certainty thatHarrison Barnes was “possessed by a demon”, which explained his lack of progress.
– Another example: the indictment in front of the whole group of Festus Ezeliwhom he accused of internally rejoicing in defeats to serve his own cause (while he was injured…).
– Erman got caught red-handed by Mark Jackson recording one of the famous speeches and was fired on the spot by management, not yet aware of what was going on. Erman explained, in his desire for revenge, that players would have been pitted against each other by Jackson, who explained to one that the other criticized him in private and vice versa.
– One of the breaking points: his statements after the coming out by Jason Collins. While almost the entire NBA supported Collins, Jackson simply explained that he “had his opinion on what was right or wrong and would pray for him and his family”. The Bay Area is a very gay-friendly area and several Warriors board members are gay. The pill didn’t go very well…
– In terms of results, GM Bob Myers criticized him for not having been able to bring the team to a new level. After the good 2012-2013 season (Conference semi-final), the Warriors were out in the first round against the Clippers the following year.
There are so many reasons which make it possible to understand why no one has tried to relaunch Mark Jackson at the present time. Mike D’Antoni had for example waited 6 years, for other reasons, before finding the light. You should never say never, but the more time passes, the more complicated it seems to imagine the one who remains one of the best passers in NBA history finding a bench.
Kendrick Perkins rages in defense of Mark Jackson
